Vietnam Service of Tom Dier

Yesterday, I wrote about this man giving a talk at the Northbrook, Illinois, Memorial Day service and he was going to talk about his buddy, Jerry Corp who died in Vietnam.

Tom Dier himself was drafted at Christmas 1968 and served ten months and 29 days in Vietnam.  he won a Silver Star there for gallantry.  Moving to Tennessee in 1972, he worked as a house painter and raised three boys.

As was the case of many Vietnam veterans, at first he tried to distance himself from the memories, but later wrote a book about his experiences titled "Miss Li Thi Van & Other Stories of Vietnam."

"I wasn't a great fan of the war, but I have never felt that the country owed me anything because there were a lot of guys who didn't come home."

A picture accompanied the article of Tom Dier in Vietnam in 1970 and Tom Dier today, who is standing next to Jerry Corp's mother, Irene Corp.

--Cooter

Remembering the Fallen: Jerry Corp, Vietnam War

This was not written yesterday I was just getting home from Indianapolis.

From the May 27, 2019, Chicago Sun-Times "Memorial Day is to the fallen" by Neil Steinberg.

"The Jerry Corp Memorial Highway is not long.  A section of U.S. Highway 160, it runs 2 1/2 miles through Ozark County, Missouri, 250 miles southwest of St. Louis.

"A green highway sign flashes by, the name registers and some drivers may feel a passing curiosity:  Does anybody remember Jerry Corp?"

"Tom Dier remembers him.

""We weren't really close or anything like that, said Dier, 70.  "He wasn't in my platoon."

"A mortar platoon in Company C, First Battalion, 52nd Infantry.  Corp was a radioman attached to the command post in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam."

" 'We got to know each other that way,' said Nier, who grew up in Nortbrook and has returned home to speak at the northwest suburb's Memorial Day commemoration after the parade Monday.  'You didn't really get close to people too much.' "

This will be continued on my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog and will finish in my Down da Road I Go blog of this date.

Mall Woes in Wilmington, N.C.

From the July 24, 2016, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Mall makeover?" by Ashley Morris.

Like many indoor shopping malls across the United States, Wilmington's Independence Mall is hurting.  Business is way off as shoppers go to Big Box stores and online.  Right now, there are 24 vacant store fronts.

And, there are the continuing problems being faced by their anchor stores: Dillard's, J.C. Penney, Sears and Belk.

It opened in 1979, prime time for indoor malls, but in October 2015 the first foreclosure sale was delayed.  It still hasn't happened.

I know Berkeley Mall in Goldsboro, N.C., faces a similar problem.  The one by Waukegan, Illinois, Lakehurst, closed as well as my all-time favorite one, Randhurst, in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.  They both were torn down.  Back in my high school days in the late 1960s, Randhurst was a major hangout for us in Palatine as well as all the other students in Chicago's Northwest suburbs.

Other than Randhurst, I have never been a big mall fan, but still I hate to see them go.

Never a Mall Rat Was I.  --CootMall

Proposed Museum of Suburbia

From the October 10, 2012, Yahoo! Finance "Suburban Dream: Museum of Suburbia" by Jim Carlton, Wall Street Journal.

Overland Park is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri.  Johnson County officials are proposing spending $34 million for a National Museum of Suburbia which will feature a ranch-style home along with lawn furniture to be built in a former bowling alley.

They expect to draw 60,000 visitors who will pay $6 each to see it.  Having grown up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, I sure would pay a visit.

--DaCoot

My Old Hometown, Palatine, Illinois-- Part 4

Now, Palatine has joined its eastern towns and is considered a mature Chicago suburb.  Village leaders are looking to redevelop and update businesses to keep that aspect viable.

Palatine has come a long way since 1873, when Everett Chamberlain described the town as a " village with three churches and a handsome grade school worth $11,000...streets [that are] excellently finished...tracts selling from $75 to $300 an acre."

FACTS:

66,820 inhabitants

2%-- population growth since 2000

79.5%--  have lived there 5+ years

33--  median age of owner/renter

69.6%--  own their homes

30.4%--  rent

$93,745--  estimated family income  ($74,622 for Illinois)

Reported ethnicity:  2.1% black, 7.4% Asian, 14% Hispanic,83.3% white

That Old Hometown of Mine.  --DaCoot

My Old Hometown: Palatine, Illinois-- Part 3

Despite the new multi-family housing, Palatine is still a family-oriented bedroom community as it has been since the 1960s.  I know my brother, sister and I sure enjoyed it.  Back in he 60s, we walked everywhere and with no fear of Stranger danger, but I imagine you couldn't do that anymore. 

The village has two park districts, swimming pools, a water park, a 15-mile Palatine Trail

And, there are festivals including Street Fest which draws 45,000 each August and, of course, the great 4th of July celebration every year.

Its public schools get high marks.  Its two high school, Palatine and the one that is not Palatine, William Fremd, are always top scorers on the Chicago area ACT rankings.  They are part of High School District 211 and elementary District 15.  It has 15 elementary schools, 4 junior highs and a school for special needs and at-risk.  Mom taught at Jane Addams and Virginia Lake elementary schools.  Private schools include two Catholic high schools and Quest Academy.  Plus, there is Harper Junior College.

Many of Palatine's residents work in Schaumburg, but the Metra train line (used to be the Chicago & Northwestern) is still the number one commuter vehicle.  Dad used to take it every weekday to and from the Quaker Oats Company's corporate headquarters in Chicago's Merchandise Mart.

A Great Place to Grow Up.  --Cooter

My Old Hometown...Palatine, Illinois-- Part 2

Palatine has a mostly family demographic, but growth will slow down as the last farm in the village limits closed in the 1990s and there just isn't much land left on which to build.  Until the great home bust, single family permits were maintaining at around 100 a year.  Of course, back in the 60s when Winston Park subdivision was being built, it was much higher.

UPSIDE OF LIVING IN PALATINE--  The village is a half hour commute from Chicago by train. There are plenty of village things always happening and now the new downtown condos are adding seniors and young professionals to the mix.

DOWNSIDE OF LIVING IN PALATINE--  Other than parks and forest preserves, there are not a lot of wide open spaces still available.  If you want room, head out farther.  Palatine used to be an outskirts suburb, but is no longer on the outskirts, but in the bustling Northwest Suburbs and all the traffic that comes from that.  I'll sure agree with the traffic problem.. It is horrible.

More to Come.  --DaCoot

A Day at Arlington Park

Today, I got together at Arlington Park Race Track with some buddies I used to teach with at John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, Illinois. We taught for close to twenty years and are all retired now. Bob, however, now teaches at a parochial school. Just can't get enough, I guess.

Watching the horses run at this beautiful facility is a great way to pass an afternoon. Unfortunately, today was overcast with a steady light rain, but even so, we had a grand time, reminiscing and betting.


A SHORT HISTORY OF ARLINGTON PARK

It is located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, on US Highway 14, known as Northwest Highway in these parts. I lived for 13 years in two neighboring communities, Rolling Meadows and Palatine.

Racing in Chicago has always been a big deal. At one time, there were six racetracks in the city.

Arlington Park opened in 1927 after being founded by Californian Harry D. "Curly" Brown. Attendance for the inaugural day was 20,000. It was the first track to install a public address system and had Clem McCarthy as race caller. Phil Georgeff called races for many years.

In 1936, the first photo finish camera was installed and 1940 the first electric starting gate.

In 1981, Arlington Park became the site of the first horse race with a million dollar purse, the Arlington Million.

Disaster struck in 1985 when a fast-moving fire completely gutted the grandstand and clubhouse, but it was open again for business four years later.

Thanks for the information, Wikipedia.

They're Off... --Cooter